Ribbon pack



July 19, 1938.` w. HARRIS, JR

RIBBON PACK Filed March 17, 1956 Patented July 19, 1938 UNITED STATES RIBBON PACK William Harris, Jr., Paterson, N. J.

Application March 17,

4 Claims.

Ribbon is usually prepared for sale and consumption by forming it into a helically Wound mass, usually upon a core, the latter if present being either with or without a flange or flanges which flank the ribbon mass. (Whereas the invention has been devised with respect particularly to textile ribbons, by the term ribbon as herein used I 'mean to include any strip of sheet material, whether textile or not.) Upon forming the wound body it is usually necessary to secure the free end of the ribbon in some Way so that the windings may be retained during subsequent handling substantially in the same degree of compactness in which they were initially developed; and, where the ribbon is dispensed by cutting or otherwise detaching therefrom successive lengths which may vary in extent, as is usually the case, whatever securing expedient is used must take into account that usually the actual point of securing will not remain during the life of the pack always in the same radial plane. The conventional securing means, at once inexpensive and adapted to be applied in any radial plane of the wound body thus to hold the ribbon clear to its free end and in compact wound form, is a common toilet pin which is pushed through the free end of the ribbon into the wound mass. But this forms perforations in the ribbon and so spoils each convolution penetrated, and the damage thus done may be more or less according to the number of times the pin is removed and reentered at diierent points.

According to this invention there is combined with the wound body, which it will be understood has a substantially axial opening therethrough, an elastic band which penetrates said opening and encompasses the body radially and acts constrictively thereon, its ends being directly secured together, as by knotting. This produces a pack which is quite as inexpensive as and embodies the advantages of the pinned type without the disadvantage incident to the puncturing of the ribbon. It further permits the ribbon to be withdrawn without loosening ofthe windings, as will appear.

If there is a core the invention provides for such free rotation thereon of the mass of windings that when the core is held against rotation in one hand and the ribbon pulled by the other hand to withdraw a suitable length thereof there will he no binding of the innermost convolution on the core, with incidental undesirable stretching of the ribbon.

If there is a core and the core is of the type having a flange or flanges flanking the ribbon and 1936, Serial No. 69,257

of greater diameter than the ribbon mass such flange or flanges are perpherally notched to receive the band so that it may bear on the outermost convolution and also be protected against the cutting action of the flanges.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a diametric section of one form of the improved ribbon pack; and,

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of another form, the near flange being absent in Fig. 4.

Referring, first, to Figs. l and 2: The core here comprises a barrel 1, as of wood, and cardboard concentric ange-forming heads 8 of greater diameter than the barrel, or at least of not substantially less diameter, and held to the ends of the barrel by nails 9, the core having an axial opening l0 therethrough. l I is the elastic band hav-r ing its ends knotted together, as at lia. 'I'he anges of theheads have opposed notches l2 reaching inwardly suiiiciently to expose laterally the windings of the mass for an extent greater than one-half its radial thickness, or so that the band, when in its normal position or occupying the notches, will press against the periphery of the wound mass until the major portion, at least, of the windings has been unwound; further, in such normal position the band is protected against the cutting action of the flanges. If the windings are fast with respect to the core, the operator to effect unwinding holds the body formed by the core and wound mass between the thumb and nger of one hand (shown dotted) and introduces the index nger of such hand between the band and the periphery of the mass and then pulls on the free end of the ribbon while permitting said body to rotate, the band tending to hold the finger against the mass so that the latter will be maintained in compact state. After cutting oif the length of ribbon so unwound the band is re-positioned in the notches. But if the device is operated in this way there is the disadvantage that, since the normal position of the band is in the notches and hence in a given radial plane, the cutting away of a desired length of the ribbon may leave an appreciable extent (more or less of a full convolution) of the ribbon unsecured by the band. Hence, I prefer that the wound mass should be revoluble on the core. And if it is so revoluble I prefer the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, as to which:

I-Iere the parts of the core are the same as in Figs. 1 and 2. But instead of the wound mass snugly fitting the core and so being fast thereon, or tending to become so under the pulling action exerted on the ribbon, especially the more the mass diminishes in diameter, a fixed part thereof, here in the form of a sleeve l5, as of cardboard, has a bore of greater diameter than and so is freely revoluble on the core; the sleeve in the example is a fixed part of the mass of windings in that the windings are tightly formed thereon and the body thus formed is then assembled with the parts of the core.

In this case, to deliver the ribbon the operator holds the core in one hand as already described, but so that the core is held against rotation, and withdraws the ribbon with the other, the wound mass rotating rela-tively to the core. It is thus possible, upon withdrawing the length required, to leave the extreme end of the outer convolution remaining held by the band.

Since the flanges are somewhat exible and the operator is likely to cause them to clamp the wound mass and so resist its rotation I prefer, further, to form the wound mass so that its axial dimension shall be less than that of the barrel, as shown in Fig. 4.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

l. The hereindescribed ribbon pack comprising, with helical windings of ribbon and a sleeve axially related to and embraced by and non-rotative with respect to the innermost windings, a core to be held by the operators hand against rotation and including a barrel extending through the sleeve and on which the latter is free to rotate and a flange flanking and of a diameter not substantially less than that of the windings, said barrel having an opening extending therethrough lengthwise of its axis and said flange having a peripheral notch exposing laterally the outer windings, and an elastic band extending through said opening and around the body formed by the windings, sleeve and core radially thereof and occupying the notch and having its ends directly secured to each other, said band constricting said body in the radial plane in which the band lies.

2. The hereindescribed ribbon pack comprising, with helical windings of ribbon and a sleeve axially related to and embraced by and non-rotative with respect to the innermost winding, a core to be held by the operators hand against rotation and including a barrel extending through the sleeve and on which the latter is free to rotate and flanges flanking the windings at opposite sides thereof and each having a diameter not substantially less than that of the windings, said barrel having an opening extending therethrough lengthwise of its axis and said flanges having substantially opposite peripheral notches exposing laterally the outer windings, and an elastic band extending through said opening and around the body formed by the windings, sleeve and core radially thereof and occupying the notches and having its ends directly secured to each other, said band constricting said body in the radial plane in which the band lies.

3. The hereindescribed ribbon pack comprising, with a helically wound ribbon mass, a core having a barrel axially related to the mass and flanges flanking the mass on both sides thereof and each of a diameter not substantially less than that of said mass, said barrel having an opening extending therethrough approximately axially thereof and the flanges having peripheral notches exposing laterally the windings of said mass for an extent greater than one-half its radial thickness, and a band formed throughout its whole extent elastic and extending through said opening and around said body and occupying the notches.

4. The ribbon pack set forth in claim 3 characterized by the mass being rotative relatively to the core and by a sleeve axially related to and embraced by and non-rotative with respect to the innermost winding of the mass.

WILLIAM HARRIS, JR. 

